Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Summer Berries

Summertime may bring heat and weeds in the garden and mosquitoes at dusk when we are trying to finish dinner, but it also brings a wonderland of fresh fruits. Right now we are enjoying ripe, dark red Bing cherries, mostly gorging ourselves by eating lots of them out of hand. No recipe needed!

Ripe white peaches are also starting to show up at the market. There is probably a pie in Sweetie's future with some of those.

The strawberries grown a few miles away are so sweet and juicy. We're having them for breakfast with our melon and bananas, for lunch with blueberries and cottage cheese, and just to snack on.

The olallieberries (an early and very juicy kind of blackberry; genetically, approximately two-thirds blackberry and one-third European red raspberry) down by the road are ripe now, too. To celebrate I made a simple galette and added some blueberries and strawberries, too for a three berry seasonal treat. This kind of free-form cousin of pie is easy to make and to serve as long as you have a large baking sheet. I use my silicon mat so it doesn't stick, even if the juices from the fruit run out during baking. You can follow the amounts of fruit that I used or make your own combination with the total being about 4 1/2 cups of fruit.

Take the pie crust dough and, on a lightly floured surface, roll it into a circle about 15 - 16 inches in diameter. Gently fold the dough in half and in half again, then move to a large baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or a silicon mat. Gently unfold the crust to a full circle again.

Wash, rinse and dry the fruit. Slice the strawberries unless they are very small. Set aside.

In a large bowl stir together the sugar, salt, cornstarch, flour and nutmeg. Add the berries and toss gently with your clean hands to lightly coat the berries. Pile the mixture into the center of the prepared crust circle leaving a few inches all around the outside uncovered.

Wet your hands and begin folding the outer few inches of dough up over the piled berries, using the dampness on your hands to seal the pleats as you go. Dampen again as needed. Bring the dough up and pleat it until all of the outer dough has been placed up and over the fruit.

Brush the galette with the beaten egg. If desired sprinkle with sanding or regular sugar (optional).

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven until the crust is golden, about 20 minutes. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6 - 8.

2 comments
:

I know exactly what you mean. I love summer for its boutiful sweet fruit and berries. You can't beat the taste of a just picked ripe fruit. I always look forward to this time of year. The galette looks fabulous and so summery

I find I can more easily cook rasp, black or ollala berries this time of year than strawberries or cherries - somehow, frozen or canned is okay for them, but some things simply MUST be eaten fresh and out-of-hand.

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